Falling Star
by Cranberry Crumpet
Summary: Zack, do you remember? That moment long ago' Torn between love and letting go, "I'm so sorry." Heartache and happiness, "I love you Cloud, don't forget it." Cloud remembers his love under the night sky. "I love you too." A single star fell that night.


'Zack...Do you remember? That moment long ago?'

Ahead a star twinkled brightly against the other dancing lights in the velvet black sky. The moonless night was illuminated by them, thousands of twinkling lost souls, forever dancing until they found their path in the second life.

A light breeze floated through strands of golden blond hair that stuck up in gravity defying spikes. Striking sky blue eyes rested behind a curtain of bangs, hiding them from the world, from the universe. The crisp night air caressed his pale cheeks, sending a small shutter through the man's body.

"I'm sorry."

He stood erect in front of a rusting sword, a grave stone, a distant memory. His eyes never strayed from the piece of metal, the reminder of a promise.

"It was so long ago... That night, you made me a promise. Do you even care about me now? Do you Zack?"

His breath shone heavily in the cold night air, his voice no more then a whisper.

"Do you remember Zack?"

_A warm breeze blew through the field of yellow grass. The calm summer night air drifted lazily through. Above the full moon shone brightly in the dark navy blue sky, while the stars sparkled like diamonds. In the distance the roar of an engine broke the silence._

_"We're almost there Spikey, don't worry." a warm chuckle escaped the man's lips as he floored the motorcycle._

_"Great." mumbled a younger looking Cloud. He tightened his hold around his mentor's waist and buried his face into the strong back in front of him. God he hated traveling, everything made him sick._

_A smile crept onto Zack's lips as he felt his friend press up against his back. Tonight was the night he was going to spill everything he had been holding back for what seemed like forever. No backing out now._

_The pair continued on in a comfortable silence the rest of the way, the only noise was the deafening roar of engine._

_"Spike, we're here." _

_Cloud raised his head away from the warm and inviting headrest he was using. Blinking a couple times he let his eyes adjust to his surroundings. It then occurred to him that they were no longer moving and it was peacefully silent._

_"You fell asleep on the way here. Though I couldn't have you sleeping the entire time on our night out, now could I?" Zack smiled and ruffled the cadet's hair affectionately._

_Dismounting the vehicle, Zack turned around and scooped Cloud up in his arms bridle style._

_"Z-Zack! What are you doing?" asked a very flustered Cloud as Zack continued to walk into the field of wild grass._

_"You just spent the past hour sleeping Cloudy. Wouldn't want you falling to the ground and scratching those pretty hands of yours because you're still half asleep." Zack replied easily, smiling down at the cadet in his arms, noticing the blush painted across his cheeks._

_Cloud looked around the large grassy field. The tall, golden stalks reached just below Zack's knees as he brushed by them and up a gently sloping hill. The bright moon floated effortlessly through the cloudless night sky. Surrounding the field was a thick forest teeming with wildlife._

_"Here we are Spike!" Zack announced cheerfully, his smile still present._

_He gently placed Cloud down to the ground before laying down besides the boy in the tall grass._

_He and Cloud laid there in a content silence watching the stars shimmer and dance above them to unknown toon. _

_"You know, Cloud, when I was your age my mentor took me out here."_

_Cloud turned his head so that he was looking at Zack, who was staring up at the sky, his eyes glazed over lost in memory._

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, he told me a story after giving me an hour lecture on the correct fighting stance." Zack let out a snort of amusement at the memory_

_"What was the story about?" Cloud's curiosity getting the better of him. He had heard much about Zack's mentor, Angeal, and from the sounds of it he wasn't someone who would tell stories._

_Zack sat up and looked down at Cloud, a small smile ghosting over his lips._

_His head turned back to the starry night sky, "Do you know what happens to the human soul when it's body dies Cloud?"_

_Said person dumbly shook his head, gazing up at Zack._

_"When the soul dies it drifts up into the sky where it shines brightly down on the earth. But the soul is restless up in the sky. All it wishes is to die peacefully, to stop shining up in the night sky. But it can't die when the people he loved, loves, want him. They prey every night for him to come back, to still be alive with them. They are in anguish and so is that soul."_

_Zack paused and looked back down at Cloud, his eyes round and sparkling, reflecting the stars that night._

_"But when the people who he loved accept his death and move on willingly, but will always hold him close to their hearts in memory, he can die peacefully. The soul then dies with a smile on his face, falling out of the sky and into the lifestream where he can watch his loved ones happily. That's why you can see falling stars on clear nights like this one Spike. That means someone has finally aloud another to die happily, at ease. Or something like that, Angeal said it better then I can"_

_Zack smiled brightly down at the cadet who had sat up during some point in the little story._

_"What happens when they fall back into the lifestream?" he asked._

_Zack sighed and looked back up into the black sky. "Angeal told me the soul would watch over the ones he loved the most and will always protect them no matter what. Because that's what you do when you love someone, you would protect them no matter what."_

_"I think, that's nice, to always have someone looking over you." Cloud said softly._

_"Yeah I know, and I know Angeal is watching over me right now!" Zack exclaimed joyfully, jumping up into the air and punching it with his fist._

_Cloud laughed softly at his friends antics._

_Sitting back down, Zack leaned over to Cloud and gently cupped his cheek. Cloud blushed lightly at the sudden closeness and contact._

_"W-What are you doing Zack?" _

_Zack smiled softly at Cloud, "You know Cloud, if I ever died I would always be watching over you. No matter what."_

_"W-What? B-but you said that a soul would only look over his loved ones." Cloud stuttered, his face flushing an even deeper shade of red._

_"That's right Cloud, I would aways look over you because I love you."_

_Cloud's eyes widened at the confession, his moth stood slightly agape. He would have never told Zack, or anyone for that matter, but he has always had a crush on the hyper First Class SOLDIER. But he was too shy to ever say or do anything about it._

_Before he could respond Cloud felt something warm and soft on his lips._

'Zack's kissing me!'_Cloud's mind screamed with surprise._

_Shock rocketed through his body, impairing his movements as he felt Zack's lips leave his. He already missed their warmth._

_"Shoot, I'm sorry Cloud! I-I didn't mean to... it's just" Zack took Cloud's lack of response as a rejection and was about to move away from the blond when he felt a hand on his._

_"I-I think I love you too Zack." Cloud said softly and smiled up at the SOLDIER._

_Cloud leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Zack's lips, his eyes fluttering shut. Zack responded immediately, moving his lips slowly and gently against Cloud's soft delicate ones. Timidly, Cloud ran his tongue along Zack's lips asking for entrance. Shocked by Cloud's bold move, Zack happily opened his mouth slightly allowing the blond to explore his mouth. They continued to gently kiss and explore each others mouths before the need for air broke them apart._

_"I love you Cloud, don't forget it."_

_"I wont Zack, I love you too."_

_Zack laid down and pulled the small blond into his chest before they both fell asleep below the night sky._

Cloud continued to gaze at the beaten sword as the memory flew into his mind. He loved Zack, he always would. They spent their nights cuddling up against each other after long days of missions or training. They loved each other and it would never die.

"I'm sorry, Zack." Cloud's voice cracked slightly. His hands unconsciously tightened into fists.

"It's my fault you're still up there, shining in the sky. I'm sorry for causing you that pain."

Cloud's voice cracked again as he felt the sting of tears welling up in his eyes.

"You must hate me."

A single tear rolled down the pale cheek before Cloud could wipe it away.

"But I'll always love you, always."

A pain in his chest erupted as Cloud lifted his eyes and stared up at the night sky.

"Rest in peace Zack, may you never see another restless night." He whispered into the night sky.

Tears trailed down Cloud's face and he turned away. He had finally done it, after nearly three years he was ready to let go of Zack. And have nothing but the bitter-sweet memories left.

Cloud walked over to his motorcycle and started the engine.

As he rode away from the cliff where his hero, his mentor, his lover died and rested he failed to look up into the night sky one last time.

In the distance a wolf's howl echoed through the canyon.

As a single star fell from the sky.

**A/N: What do you guys think? First one-shot! Woot! I've never been able to write short stories or anything. They all have to be really long so I hope this is ok at least! Review please! It makes me feel like I can actually write and not just type words on a computer! Thanks for reading!**

**Cranberry Crumpet**


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